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An 88-year-old World War II veteran died doing what he loved Saturday afternoon.

Norman Hasman, a part-time resident of North Chili, was killed when his small, single-engine plane crashed on his air strip off Route 104 in Parma, according to Sgt. Robert Murphy of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Murphy said he was practicing "touch and go exercises" — the aircraft touches the ground briefly and then quickly flies up again — when the accident occurred. Hasman died at the scene and there was no one else aboard the plane at the time of the crash.

"We are a little shocked right now, but we know that's how Dad would have wanted to go," said David Hasman, 62, the victim's oldest son. "He loved to fly."

Norman Hasman, who was a tail gunner on a B-24 aircraft for the Fifteenth Air Force during World War II, was shot down twice and taken as a prisoner of war during his military career.

He had recently passed his flying physical and had his plane re-licensed, said David Hasman. The plane went down in Hasman Field, named after Norman, just west of the intersection of Route 104 and Hilton Parma Road.

Murphy said the plane veered off the air strip and into the long wheat grass, which caused it to overturn. He said wind could have been a factor. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration will evaluate the plane, which suffered minor damage.

David Hasman said his father was happy his neighbors were growing wheat this year, but "if they weren't growing wheat he'd probably still be alive."

Norman Hasman, a father of six, was a longtime resident of the Rochester area. Born in Ontario, Wayne County, Hasman grew up in Webster and raised all of his children in the city of Rochester. After a career in the Air Force, Hasman started two local businesses — Nordon Tool & Mold, Inc. and Amplaco Plastics, Inc. According to David Hasman, his father moved to Arizona around 20 years ago, but returned to his North Chili residence in the summer.

Family described Hasman as a religious and multi-talented man. David said his father played several instruments — including the guitar, harmonica and banjo — and would perform regularly at retirement homes.

"He was always doing something," said David Hasman. "Nothing ever slowed him up."

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The scene of a fatal plane crash off West Ridge Road in Parma.(Photo: ANNETTE LEIN / Staff photographer)